Users Guide

NPIV Proxy Gateway Operation
An S5000 configured as an NPG does not join a SAN fabric, but functions as an FCoE-FC bridge that forwards
storage traffic between servers and core SAN switches. The core switches forward SAN traffic to and from FC
storage arrays.
The following illustration shows an example of the NPG operation.
Figure 99. NPIV Proxy Gateway Example
An S5000 FC port is configured as an N (node) port that logs in to an F (fabric) port on the upstream FC core
switch and creates a channel for N-port identifier virtualization. NPIV allows multiple N-port fabric logins at
the same time on a single, physical Fibre Channel link.
Converged Network Adapter (CNA) ports on servers connect to S5000 Ten-Gigabit Ethernet ports and log in
to an upstream FC core switch through the S5000 N port. Server fabric login (FLOGI) requests are converted
into fabric discovery (FDISC) requests before the S5000 forwards them to the FC core switch.
NPIV Proxy Gateway 702